Ph.D. in Classical Studies 1991, Duke University
B.A. (Hon.) in History & Philosophy, 1976, Villanova University

Research

Professor Francis specializes in cultural history of the later Roman Empire, specifically focusing on the 2nd-4th centuries C.E. He is particularly interested in the broader cultural context in which early Christianity developed and the interrelations between Christianity and pagan thought and culture. His current research focuses the relationship between verbal and visual representation, and how image making and the dynamics of seeing permeate the writing, exercise of power, and thinking about divinity. He also continues interest in his earlier research on asceticism and pagan philosophical culture, a project which culminated in the publication of his book Subversive Virtue (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995). He is the author of various articles and reviews which have appeared in classics, history, and religion journals, and takes an active part in learned societies in these disciplines. Courses he currently teaches include: Greek Roman Mythology, Gender Sexuality in Antiquity, and Greek Roman Religion.

Special Fields
Second Century C.E., Later Roman Empire, Ancient Religion & Early Christianity, Visuality in Literature & Visual Aspects of Cultural Production

Previous Positions

Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor of Classics, University of Kentucky, 1995-

Interim Director of the Program in Classics, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, 1993-95

“Verbal and Visual Representation: Art and Text, Culture and Power in Late Antiquity.” In Philip Rousseau, ed., A Companion to Late Antiquity, 285-305. Oxford: Blackwell, 2009. This volume has received the Association of American Publishers 2009 PROSE ("Professional and Scholarly Excellence") award for Best Single-Volume Reference in Humanities and Social Sciences.

“Living Icons: The Metaphor of Imaging from the Second to Fourth Centuries, C.E.” Studia Patristica 40 (2006): 209-214.